Chicago Normal School records, 1896-1913

  • Identificationhttp://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af0040##
  • TitleChicago Normal School records
  • LanguageEnglish
  • OriginationChicago Normal School records
  • Date1896-1913
  • Physical Description9 boxes; 7.50 linear feet
  • RepositoryChicago State University, Archives and Special Collections, Chicago, IL 60628
  • AbstractChicago Normal School came into existence when the Chicago Board of Education took over the Cook County Normal School in 1896. The institution continued to enjoy an international reputation for progressive education under its principals, Francis Parker, Arnold Tomkins, and Ella Flagg Young. The collection contains course catalogs for much of CNS’s history, photographs, research materials on Ella Flagg Young, and a ledger of student grades.

Cook County Normal School records Chicago Normal College records Chicago Teachers College records

In 1896 the Chicago Board of Education assumed responsibility for what had been Cook County’s Normal school, located in Englewood. Shortly thereafter, Francis W. Parker, the school’s renowned principal, resigned after the Board failed to implement the recommendations of a school system commission headed by William Rainey Harper of the University of Chicago. Harper suggested raising the standards for admission to the Normal School, increasing the total number of teachers trained, and strengthening oversight of graduates once they were working in the public schools. Parker resigned in 1899 and he was replaced by Arnold Tomkins. While Tomkins was not as distinguished an educator as Parker, he introduced key reforms that helped mold the institution’s philosophy. Tomkins declared his dissatisfaction with the practice school then used as a laboratory for student-teachers. He wanted instructors to gain real world experience in Chicago’s public schools, and he decided, moreover, that whenever possible they should be placed in poor, immigrant communities. From that point forward, the school would be characterized not just by its innovative pedagogical practices, but also by its commitment to expanding opportunity to underserved sectors of society. Tomkins was succeeded as president by Ella Flagg Young, a pioneering educator in her own right. Young received a Ph.D. under John Dewey at the University of Chicago, and after leaving Chicago Normal School served as Superintendent of the Chicago Public School system. She attempted to expand the curriculum to three years, but was stymied by the Board of Education. After Young left to become Superintendent in 1909, William Bishop Owen became Principal of CNS.

  • Names
    • Tompkins, Arnold
    • Young, Ella Flagg, 1845-1918
  • Subject
    • Progressive education
    • Universities and colleges--United States
    • Teachers--training of

The collection contains course catalogs for much of CNS's history; photographs; research materials on Ella Flagg Young and William Bishop Owen; and a ledger of student grades.

The records have been arranged into 3 series: I. Photographs II. Catalogs III. Miscellaneous.